Whānau and friends paid tribute to the “vivacious” and “audacious” young woman at a service held yesterday at Brisbane’s Hillsong Theatre, the Courier Mail reports.
A tribute read on behalf of Tia’s boyfriend, Hayden Mckinlay, revealed her plans to travel to New Zealand and the last conversation the couple shared.
“I will forever miss our little calls, I will wait every day for the phone to ring just to hear your voice, the last words we said to each other were ‘I love you’ and we truly meant it,” he said.
“We had so much of our lives planned together, buying our first home next year, trips away … Tia wanted to go to New Zealand at the end of the year to see the snow and her family.
“Our life together was so happy.”
McKinlay said he could not imagine life without his “rock” and “sunflower”.
Cameron’s aunt Karma Te Awhitu previously told the Courier Mail her niece had been on her way to see her on the day she died.
“She messaged me at 4pm saying she was getting her lashes done and asking if I wanted to catch up for a quick cocktail before she headed home,” she said.
When she didn’t hear from her niece and her partner also couldn’t reach Cameron, whānau began ringing the hospital and filed a missing persons report with police.
Te Awhitu said it took until 11pm that night to learn the tragic truth.
“We just feel like she’s been stolen from us,” she said.
At the service, Te Awhitu said she was wrapped around her niece’s little finger.
“I fell in love with you from the moment you were born and I never stopped loving you,” she told mourners.
“You brought sunshine to my life and looking around here today, it is quite clear you did the same for many other people.”
Funeral celebrant Dawn Louise said Tia was “vivacious and audacious”.
“You wouldn’t be left wondering what [Tia] thought because she would tell you,” she said.
“She was an old soul. She gave her mum a purpose in life and when she left us, she gave us all a reminder of the brevity of life.”
Cameron’s heartbroken mother, Jade Te Awhitu, previously shared her grief, saying her daughter “had her whole life ahead of her”.
“She was beautiful, outgoing and unique, really unique ... She was really close with all of her family,” she told the Courier Mail.
Two GoFundMe appeals have been launched to help whānau. One, set up on behalf of the family to accept koha, states: “Our beautiful Tia Angel grew her angel wings. Tragically stolen from us far too soon in a bus accident.”
The other, set up by Mckinlay’s mother, Christine Melrose, shared details of the young man’s heartbreak at losing the love of his life.
“Tia was an amazing, remarkable beautiful young 18-year-old lady taken from us all way to soon. My son Hayden lost the love of his life this night,” Melrose wrote.
“I can’t even imagine how Tia’s mum and family [are] coping right now ... Hayden is just beyond himself and can’t come to terms with losing Tia, he was devoted to her.
“Tia will always be in our hearts forever. We will never forget that beautiful smile, fly high beautiful, we will forever love and miss you.”
‘We will find answers’
Authorities have pledged to find answers and urged the public not to speculate on the cause of the crash, AAP reports.
Paramedics assessed nine passengers on the bus and transported five, including the driver, to hospital with minor injuries.
Brisbane Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner said the Forensic Crash Unit would undertake a thorough investigation, including scouring footage from the bus and traffic cameras.
“To the family and friends of Tia Cameron, who tragically lost her life, and to everyone impacted, the thoughts, prayers and hearts of Brisbane are with you,” Schrinner wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, last Saturday afternoon.
“What happened in Brisbane last night was a devastating tragedy.
“It has left our entire community in shock.
“I want to assure the people of Brisbane we will find answers,” he told reporters in Brisbane.
The bus driver would not operate any council buses while the crash was under investigation, Schrinner said.
He urged the public not to speculate on the reasons for the crash.
“That will be determined - we will have those answers,” he said.
Transport for Brisbane divisional manager Samantha Abeydeera said the bus’ brakes were tested in February.
She said she believed the council’s fleet was “very safe”.
“There was a routine 10,000km testing of the bus last month and now the vehicle will actually go through engineering investigation to ensure there were no mechanical failures,” she said.
“We are convinced that we have a very safe fleet, very safe operators ... we absolutely take the duty to the city very seriously.”
Abeydeera said the bus driver had a safe driving history.
“The bus driver has been operating with us for decades,” she said.
“[They are] a very experienced driver, with a strong performance record.”
People working in the area described their shock as some left flowers at the scene.
“I walk the street almost every day ... I took the bus this morning and definitely sat there and pondered over things,” Minh Phan, the owner of a nearby beauty salon, told ABC News.
“I feel very sorry for the family.”
Schrinner described the incident as a truly devastating and heart-breaking scenario.
“It was a Friday night - people thinking about what they were doing for the weekend, finishing up work ... this is not something that anyone would anticipate happening,” he said.
“Walking on a busy street and seeing this tragedy, it touches us all, because it could have been anybody.”
- With AAP
